Melly awoke with a sharp gasp, sitting bolt-upright in the bed. She felt as though her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest at any given moment. She could not believe what she had witnessed in her dream not too long ago and soon figured out that it couldn't have been a dream but a vision.

The bed rustled across the room, and Melly turned to see Madisyn beginning to wake up, blinking the sleep blearily from her eyes as she propped herself up on one elbow, frowning at her new roommate.

"Melly? Is everything alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a nightmare, that's all. No need to worry, Mads. Go back to sleep."

Madisyn mumbled something about sleep before she turned over and was asleep once again. But even long after Madisyn had gone back to sleep, Melly was still wide awake. The dream replayed constantly in her mind, sending chills down her spine. In the end, she decided to watch Netflix on the TV, turning the volume nearly all the way down, until she was finally able to go back to a restless sleep.

When she awoke, she was startled awake. Someone had thrown a pillow at her head to get her to wake up. She turned wildly to see Madisyn cackling with laughter. This made Melly scowl, as she was not in the mood for this kind of behavior.

"Really Mads?" Melly asked bitterly. She grabbed the pillow that had smacked her in the face and chucked it at her as revenge. To her satisfaction, Madisyn whined as the pillow smacked her across the face, just as it had done to her.

"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, didn't we?" Madisyn tried to joke as Melly desperately wanted to go back to sleep.

"Shut up. I'm not in the mood for all this noise this morning."

"Wow. What a way to start the morning."

Melly glared. Madisyn backed off, muttering an apology under her breath. Melly rolled out of bed and yawned as she tried to get ready for the day. Madisyn allowed her to borrow an outfit for the day — a dark burgundy long-sleeved shirt, jeans that surprisingly fit her, and a pair of converse shoes. Unfortunately for her, Madisyn was already out the door by the time she had finished getting dressed. She quickly brushed her teeth and decided to head to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast and a coffee before heading to her first class.

When she had gotten her breakfast together, she took out the manilla folder that she had stuck in her backpack and glanced down at it with a frown. She had not realized that someone had come up behind her and was almost breathing down her neck, until she heard a voice that nearly made her jump out of her skin and made her heart race uncontrollably.

"You're new here, aren't you?" Melly nearly dropped her manilla folder in surprise. She managed to catch it before spinning on her heel to see a young boy her age standing over her shoulder.
He looked handsome, she realized. He had sandy-blonde, cropped hair. His blue eyes seemed to match. He had a sharp jawline and fair skin. Not nearly as pale as hers, but pale enough. Like everyone else she had met, he seemed to have a slight golden shimmer around him like an aura.

His eyes seemed to search her face, making her squirm uncomfortably. She averted her eyes from his, finding the ground more interesting than his face.

"Yes, I'm new."

"What's your name?"

In her mind, Melly prayed and hoped that this boy wouldn't laugh at her name just as Dante had done when they'd first met. So she hesitantly responded.

"Melanie. Melanie Howard. What's yours?"

The boy brightened, making Melly relax her tense shoulders.

"Joshua. Joshua Nolan. But everyone calls me Josh for short."

"Well . . . . hi, Josh. Now that we've met each other properly, I guess."

"I didn't mean to scare you a moment ago," he apologized hastily. His blue eyes searched hers desperately.

"It's alright. I know you didn't mean it."

He nodded, seeming to accept her apology.

"What class are you headed to?"

"History," Melly answered at once. "In the History department."

The boy's eyes lit up, making Melly's stomach sink slightly. Not that she didn't hate his presence or anything. She had hoped to be alone for a little bit on her first day of school instead of being overwhelmed by a crowd of people swarming her all the time.

Great! I'm heading there, too!"

Melly nodded. They headed to the History department in silence, making Melly feel slightly uncomfortable. But as they walked, Melly noticed that more than half of the girls they had passed by seemed to glare at her, as though they were jealous of her.

It took Melly a moment to realize that they weren't only jealous, but they were jealous that she was hanging out with a handsome boy like Josh. She had to admit that he wasn't bad-looking at all.

As they continued to walk up the flights of stairs, Melly peeked at him from the corner of her eye. He looked just as handsome as he had done when she had first gazed into his face. She found herself staring a little longer than she should have, and Josh finally turned to face her again. He had a smirk on his face when he finally noticed her staring and she quickly looked away. She could feel herself blushing as she kept her eyes on the floor.

"Like something that you see?" Josh teased, smiling. His smile displayed a set of pure-white teeth, something that you didn't see every day. It put Melly off-guard and she stumbled backwards slightly. The smile faded from Josh and he looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry," Melly muttered under her breath. Her blush was deeper as she continued to avoid his persistent gaze. "I didn't expect your teeth to be so . . . . white."

Josh laughed quietly, sending shivers up Melly's spine. His blue-green eyes sparkled with mischief, making Melly's stomach plummet. As he smiled with the familiar mischief she was so used to seeing in her brother's eyes, she felt a lump growing in her throat.

She had just realized just how much she missed her brother. She had not given him a thought of concern since that morning, and she felt guilty. She should have thought about the dream she had last night, but she was so wrapped up with being irritated with Madisyn for waking her up in an annoying way and getting herself ready for school that she had not given him a single thought.

She'd felt off since her brother had been kidnapped by dark creatures. Like there was a hole missing in her heart. Something that couldn't be repaired until she got her brother back.

"Are you alright?" Josh finally asked, though he sounded hesitant.

"Yes, I'm fine," Melly answered hastily. She cleared her throat, trying to not let the burning in her eyes overtake her senses. "That look on your face earlier . . . . it just reminded me of how mischievous my brother was before this whole ideal."

The smile from Josh's face faded. He looked embarrassed.

"Sorry. I didn't know."

"It's not your fault," Melly insisted.

But it's my fault, she thought bitterly to herself. She couldn't admit herself to say that out loud, knowing that Josh would try and change her mind about it. There was no point in trying.

They approached their history department in silence, walking down the marble hallways. The inside of the history department was the same as any other part of the school — marble walls, high, vaulted ceilings that had gems glittering near the top, crystal chandeliers hanging down from the middle of the roof, and thin, slanted, rectangle windows sending down beams of light from each corner. The light from the windows reflected on the gold tiles of the building.

They approached the room. Josh, being the gentleman he was, opened the door to let Melly go in first. Melly reluctantly allowed him to and walked in. The first thing she noticed were desks. All polished and the wood was made of mahogany. There were matching chairs with the long desks, too.

Josh went to his seat towards the middle of the classroom and Melly approached the teacher's desk. A gold plaque on his desk noted that he was none other than Professor Caius Clarke.

Interesting name, Melly couldn't help but think to herself, slightly amused. She approached Professor Clarke's desk and studio there for a moment, hoping that he would notice her without having to introduce herself. When he didn't look up after a minute, she finally cleared her throat, making Professor Clarke look up, startled. Then, he smiled warmly at her, much to Melly's relief.

"Ah! You're the new student Headmistress Reina has been talking about."

Melly raised an eyebrow. "You already know about me?"

"I think everyone knows about you by now, Miss Howard." He winked knowingly at her, making Melly smile wryly at him. He bent down, opened a drawer in his desk, and pulled out what looked like a binder that already had notebook paper in it, along with a heavy history textbook. The slight heaviness startled her slightly and she staggered. She thought that her knees would begin to give out at any point.

"This is all that you will be needing for the year," Professor Clarke insisted. Melly ignored the door opening in the background as more students continued to join them. She could feel curious eyes on her as she continued to stand there, listening to Professor Clarke before class began. "Don't worry, you aren't very far behind. We're only about five chapters in. You can take a seat over there by that Michelangelo statue."
He waved towards the seat that sat right next to the infamous Statue of David. With reluctance, Melly eventually made her way towards the desk Professor Clarke had pointed out and sat down. She saw fit to look through her history book so that she could get the idea of what they would be learning about that year. As she continued to flip through the book, she only glanced up every time she heard the door open. She hoped to recognize a familiar face or two. But so far, nothing.

She dropped her gaze in disappointment as person after person continued to show up but not a face that she recognized. She wondered if Joshua Nolan was going to be the only person who was going to be the only person in her class that she would recognize.

Then, just as almost all the seats were full, the door opened again. Melly looked up with hope before it turned into horror. The first face she recognized belonged to none other than Durante Knightley. And, the person who was closely following at his heels like a lost puppy, was none other than Celina Reynolds.

The girl looked just as beautiful as before. The only exception was that she did not have a reddened face as she had done when Melly had first come face-to-face with her the previous night. She kept her head down, hoping that Celina wasn't the one who would be her new desk mate. She was relieved, yet slightly worried when Dante had sat down. Her relief then turned to anxiety when she saw Celina skipping after him. The moment he sat down, however, Celina had sat herself right on top of him, immediately putting her arms around his neck, her head resting on her shoulders.

Melly quickly looked away, uncomfortable with what she was seeing. She kept her focus on the Expo board in front of her, which already had several definitions for them to identify. She failed to notice, however, the uncomfortable look Dante had on his face as Celina continued to sit down in his lap. When he spoke, Melly was surprised to hear how quiet his voice sounded, yet it was loud enough to carry across the classroom.

"Er — Celina? Can we please not do this right now?"

"Why not?" Celina pouted, clearly not happy with what Dante had to say. "I want to be with you."

Dante squirmed uncomfortably. "I know you do, love. Trust me. I know. But I've got a new deskmate sitting next to me and I'm pretty sure that she does not want to see us together like this."

Melly's face paled and her stomach plummeted. She did not want to be in the middle of attention. Not today.

At the mention of Melly's presence, Celina visibly tensed before slowly turning to face Melly. She stood up on her feet, and she walked insanely gracefully towards her. A malicious grin was on her face, and Melly could have sworn that she saw a flash of red cross her eyes and pointed fangs on her teeth. She got up close to Melly, trying to appear as though she was threatening her in front of the entire classroom. She pointed a threatening finger at her, making Melly narrow her eyes at it.

"Don't get too close to my boyfriend, Howard. You hear me? He's mine. No one else can claim him except for me. Understand?"

Melly stuck her chin out defiantly. She had her arms crossed over her chest, as though being stubborn.

"And what if I don't?" She challenged defensively. Melly could have sworn that she saw Dante smirking slightly at this. She could have sworn that her heart had momentarily added an extra beat.

Melly was startled when Celina exposed her unusual, pearly-white teeth. A flash of red crossed her blue eyes again. For a moment, Melly could see why vampires were scary.

"Alright, Miss Reynolds," said Professor Clarke sharply. He clapped his hands together, startling the two of them. "There's no need to threaten our new student. Go back to your seat, class is just about to start."

As Melly's heart settled down to steady heartbeats again, she was rather confused, and she was forced to wonder what she was getting herself into and how dangerous her new life would be.

"Alright, everyone," said Professor Clarke loudly the moment Celina had gotten herself settled in her seat, still throwing Melly murderous glares across the room. Melly chose to ignore this. "Today we are starting on chapter five — the Supernatural."

"Excuse me, Professor Clarke," Celina drawled openly. Everyone turned to face her, and Melly noticed the crazy grin on her face. "But everyone knows what the Supernatural is and what it means."

A collective gasp was heard from the other students. Some began mumbling amongst themselves, giving Celina side-eyed looks. She, however, sat there, looking smug and unchanging. Professor Clarke recovered his shocked reaction and cleared his throat, glaring at Celina.

"Well, then, Miss Reynolds. What is the definition of Supernatural?"

Celina rolled her eyes. "Can't the new girl answer that question for you?"

Melly's heart quickened at this, making her feel sick. Luckily, Professor Clarke seemed to be on her side as he glared at Celina with narrowed eyes.

"You've been sassy with me, Miss Reynolds. If you know the question, give me the answer. Please."

Celina shot Melly another malicious glare, acting as though this was entirely her fault, before she huffed.

"It is a phenomena beyond the laws of nature. Meaning that the Non-Gifted folks can't see what we see."

Professor Clarke nodded, as though he approved of her answer.

"Thank you, Miss Reynolds. I told you that you could answer my question instead of pressing Miss Howard on her first day."

The rest of the class snickered loudly at this sarcastic comment as Celina rolled her eyes, not looking any different than before.

By the time literature and math had ended, Melly was desperate for a lunch break. She wanted to get away from Celina. It was already bad enough for Melly to have Celina in every class with her that morning. She hated the way Celina's glare burned into the back of her skull, which was hard to ignore. But in the end, Melly had triumphed with keeping her head down, or kept her gaze on the Expo boards rather than confronting Celina and telling her to stop.

Luckily, she sat with her small group of friends which consisted of: Madisyn James, Lacey Douglas, Sophie Lefevre, and Joshua Nolan. There were a couple of other girls that sat at their table, but Melly didn't pay much attention to them. She did, however, notice that they seemed to enjoy the attention they were getting from Josh. She could see them giving him lovey-dovey, flirtatious looks in their eyes every time his attention was on them. But the moment Melly had joined them after grabbing a McDonald's double pounder, fries, and a large Coke, his focus was on her rather than them instead. The moment these two girls saw this, they were very bitter and shot Melly malicious looks before they took their trays and stalked off to sit somewhere else.

"How was your first morning?" Josh asked the moment the two girls had left. Melly put her focus back on him again and reminded herself why those girls were acting as though he was the heartthrob of the school. The thought made her forget about Dante for a moment as she stared into his surprisingly-beautiful blue eyes.

"Other than Celina threatening me, it was fine," Melly answered, trying to keep her voice flat. Madisyn looked appalled.

"She threatened you in front of an entire classroom? Why?"

Melly shrugged, trying to act indifferent.

"She thinks that I'm trying to steal her boyfriend, which I'm not, by the way." She paused as another question gnawed away at her brain. "Are they dating, by any chance?"

Melly was surprised when Lacey laughed loudly at this, attracting several table's attention, which they all chose to ignore. She tried to ignore the hurt look in Josh's face before quickly turning to face Sophie and started an automatic conversation with her.

"She wishes!" Lacey continued to laugh. "But Dante despises her as a girlfriend."

Melly was startled by this news. "Why?"

"Haven't you already seen? She's super obsessed with him. She gets super defensive if she sees another girl flirting with him."

"I haven't been —" Melly began defensively, but Lacey cut her off.

"I know you haven't. But Celina is a very insecure person when it comes to her love life. She's — er — had a very rough life, if you can't already tell. She's been through a lot of shit over time."

Melly didn't know what Lacey meant by that, other than the fact that she had already guessed that Celina was some sort of vampire.

"Hey, Melly!" said Madisyn brightly as she reached over to snag a gummy worm from Lacey's plate. Lacey rolled her eyes at this but didn't argue over the fact she just had a gummy worm stolen from her. "Wanna come and do a cheerleading session with us after school gets out?"

"We have Demonstration and Training Day after school gets out, Mads," Lacey reminded her. Madisyn rolled her eyes.

"I know, you idiot. What I'm saying is that after Demonstration and Training Day, you should join us for a cheerleading session, Melly."

Melly gave it some thought. Sure, she's done ballet before. She'd performed multiple times over the years — until she was brought here to Avalon. Perhaps it was time to get her flexibility back and test her strength. And it would be a good way to distract her from thoughts of her brother and Dante. So in the end, she shrugged and picked at her fries.

"Sure. I guess that would be good for me."

And she hoped and prayed that she would not end up looking like a fool of herself.